Gym Etiquette

Never Hold Your Breath

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Just as on a bicycle, proper breathing results in a more efficient workout, a reduced risk of injury and your ability to do the exercises more easily. Forget to breathe altogether and you chance dizziness, nausea and hypertension, or worse: a hernia, stroke, even a heart attack. A good rule to remember is that you should be continually breathing throughout any exercise. Once you get a rhythm going, add technique: When strength training, always exhale during exertion. So, for example, when using a bench press, exhale slowly and completely as you push the weight up; inhale as you lower the weight back down.